Steps to Take Before and After Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)

Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) is a very important document that you will need if you are planning to study in the UK. You will have to request your CAS before you can apply for your student visa.

Students who get accepted to study abroad in the UK will have to apply for a UK Student Visa (Tier 4 General). To apply for this visa and be able to travel, you will require your CAS. The CAS itself is an electronic document issued to you by your chosen university. Your CAS will be valid for student visa application for six months from the date of issue.

When Should You Request Your CAS?

You can request your CAS online via your student portal, six months prior to your course start date. But this is only if you already have an unconditional offer to study.

How to Request the CAS

You will have to log onto your portal and make the request. You will need supporting documents. You should expect these to include:

• Financial documents: This includes the full amount you need for your first year course fees plus an extra £12,006, which serve as maintenance funds. You will need to show proof of funds. If you’re on a scholarship, you have to show evidence of your scholarship approval. Proof of funds usually require a bank statement. If you are submitting this, your bank statement closing balance must be no more than 31 days before the date you submit you student visa application.
• Tuberculosis cerificate: If you are from a country like Nigeria, you will need to complete a TB test from a UKVI-approved TB test centre

Once your CAS is ready, it will be sent to you by email.

Your institution will also send a unique reference number that will match up with your CAS. You must mention this reference number on the Tier 4 visa application form. The visa official processing your application will check this number and corroborating document to confirm that you have an unconditional offer from the university.

Your university will also send along the information they have used to generate your CAS. This is called a ‘CAS statement’ and it is sent to you by email as well. The CAS statement is not required for your Tier 4 visa application but it gives all the information about your course and sponsor and some information about money that you need to complete your Tier 4 visa application form.

In case there are any inconsistencies between the information used by the university to create the CAS and the information you provide on your application form, then your visa application could get refused.

The CAS statement tells you the following information:

• 14 digit reference number for the CAS
• Sponsor License Number (SLN) of the university where you intend to study
• Start and end dates of your course
• Title of the course
• Tuition fees for the first year or the entire course.
• Any tuition fees that you have already paid to the university
• Any accommodation fees that you have already paid
• Assessment of your English language ability i.e. IELTS or TOEFL scores

Next Moves After You Have Received Your CAS

After receiving your CAS, the next move is generally to apply for your student visa. You should include a copy of your CAS statement with your student visa application. When you complete your student visa application form, refer to your CAS statement, as the information you state on your visa application form will be checked against the information listed on your CAS statement.

The following points will help you avoid a visa refusal:

• A CAS is only valid for six months from the date it is issued.
• When you make your student visa application you must include all original documents stated on your CAS, where required. Failure to do so could result in a visa refusal.

Another important thing to note is that you may obtain CAS from several different universities. However, before you apply for your Tier 4 student visa you must decide which university you intend to study and use the CAS from that university in your application. Once you do that, any other CAS you have been issued will become ‘obsolete’. This means that you will not be able to use them for the visa application. When your student visa has been granted and you enter the UK, you must study at the university that issued your CAS.